My surf coaching has taken me to many different places around Australia and the World. I have been lucky enough to meet some great people along the journey and surfed some amazing waves. I haven't been every where yet but I am working on it. I will try to share some of my experiences on this blog.

Loading...

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Mentawai 2012

Mentawai October 2012

Thankfully not our charter boat

Another boat charter trip to the Mentawais with my
Russian buddies Alena and the Endless Summer Surf School crew from Bali on the charter boat
Addiction.

Take off from Tullamarine on AFL grand final eve. Have
decided to spend a couple of days in Singapore on the way through. It is not
the quickest way to go but I enjoy spending time in Asia and Singapore is a
cool city.

If you are coming from Australia there are a couple of
tips if you are on a mission to get straight through to Padang. Air Asia does
the final KL - Padang leg. If you get a real airline to KL and then Air Asia
into Padang you will have to change airports in KL. AA flies out of the low
cost terminal. It takes around 40 minutes to get there. It should cost a few
bucks but if you are travelling with all the team on the trip they will try and
slug you extra.

Garuda always look a little expensive but they fly
through Jakarta and then straight to Padang. You may have to wait for the
connection but you won't have to drag your boards around to different airports.
Grab a VIP lounge in Jakarta for $10 and chill out with free food and drink.
This info maybe outdated soon. The mail is Tiger Airlines are reopening their
Singapore - Padang flights with Garuda to follow. Given how user friendly
Singapore Airport is this would be good news.

I am staying at a small guest house style hotel called
Lloyd's inn recommended to me by Mr Ajill of the Singapore Surfing Association.
Pretty sure it doesn't have any star ratings and it could do with a facelift
but it is just behind Orchard road and costs only $90. Great spot with super
friendly service. Another cool spot is Rucksack Inn in Clarke Quay. This one
has dorms as well as rooms. If you want something more upmarket try Albert
Court in little India, another good location. If you are a five star traveller
take your pick, they are all here.

The Taxis into the city are pretty cheap. I had some time
to kill so I jumped on the train which is easy to use. I went straight to
little India for breakfast. Masala Dosai (a spicy potato pancake) and sweet
Indian tea.

After that and the hotel check in I am off to find a bar
with the footy. I ended up at Clarke Quay and managed to find a big screen one
minute before the bounce. Sitting in 28 degree temp watching the footy with a
bunch of expats and tourists was surreal. Great afternoon and a good match to
boot.

One of my mates was flying in to Singapore as well and we
had planned to meet at an Indian Restaurant that night. Tom and I ate at the
same place 37 years ago. If you like Indian, Komala Vilas or Banana Leaf Apolla
are institutions.

I met Tom and his Wife Lisa at the new Gardens by the Bay
the next day. Lisa had a bunch of her family as well. Not that keen on the
tourist thing but these new gardens are really awesome. A totally self
sustaining complex with huge rain water catchments in the guise of massive
plants and a bio steam furnace that is fuelled by pruned plant material within
the park. Well worth a visit. It is right in front of the massive hotel with
the boat on top. 56 floors and takes 15 seconds by lift to get the top.

An Indian lunch at Zam Zam's another food institution on
the corner of Arab street and Beach road. Great food and laughs with all the
crew.We had Murtabah and Byriani. (
Enak Sekali) If you are a keen fisherman you can get all the latest gear in
this area way cheaper than home. Could come in handy on your boat.

October 3

I have to do the bun fight through KL to get to Padang,
not too bad but am keen to get to Padang and on our boat. I am the first of our
guys in Padang. Nothing to do but walk around town all afternoon. Apart from
the Tsunami threat Padang is fun. Andre, Anastasia and Dimma from Endless
Summer surf school arrive with their two guests Alex and Froddo (not really the
correct spelling and pronunciation but that is what I am calling him). We head
to the port and board the Addiction. Alena, Artem and Tanya are coming in from
Europe and arrive at Midnight. Really super Kruto to see everyone again.

The crossing to the Ments is about 75 miles, it is a bit
rough and we arrive at Telescopes about 8am. Everybody is tired but by lunch
everyone except Anna and Sleeping beauty (Tanya) have surfed. 20 guys in the
line up with shoulder high waves. An OK first surf.

The wind picks up a bit and a couple of bigger sets, we
head around the corner and try a left by ourselves. It looks OK from the boat
but hard work in a strong current. We anchor near Aloita Surf Camp for the
night.

After dinner we all watch Geni photo's from the days
surfing.

October 4

Captain Eric has the boat back at Telescopes by 6am. Just
a puff of wind and 6 ft sets. Some of the guys head out on the high tide. The
girls and I wait for the tide to drop a bit so we can catch a few inside waves.
It gets pretty crowed. Some of the boats have 12 to 13 guys on them. Way too
many.

The surf is solid and the wind is across shore putting a
few ridges on the wave face. There are some good ones but it is tough
conditions for most of us. Tanya and Anna go for a paddle on the two SUP's that
are on the Addiction.

We are eating really well with great food. Our chefs Andy
and Tony are doing a great job. Azman is the boats engineer and Yudi the boat
boy.

We surf till dark then back around to the same anchorage
as last night. Uno, drinks, dinner, slide show and a movie before bed.

October 5

We are back at Telescopes at 6am. Glassy conditions and
although the swell has dropped a bit there are still head high sets. Not as
many guys but testing conditions. Burritos for second breakfast today then a
snooze. After our snooze the blue sky has gone and it is raining. The across
shore southerly has come in but as we watch the wind tends more offshore and
strengthens. More rain and squalls. Alena and I sneak out as the last squall
finishes. It has glassed off, we paddle up the line and end up having a great
surf. Best of the trip so far. Fish Burgers for lunch.

Everyone is tired, by 3.30 with heaps of waves under our
belts and a strengthening Southerly wind we decide to head south to find some
different waves for tomorrow.

The girls have a wake surf at our anchorage as night
falls. We have dinner and watch Carl's video of the days surf. After that
Captain Eric drives the boat further south to Maccas.

Ouch!!! Didn't hit the reef but was asked by a Taiwanese
surfer today if I was coaching my granddaughter. Alena has been mistaken for my
daughter before but granddaughter? Alena must be younger.

October 6

We are up at 6 again and the girls and I have a fun surf
on a small shallow left before we take the boat around to Maccas. All the girls
get some waves while Alena gets a bomb set.

At Maccas the wind is almost onshore but there are four
foot plus sets and fun waves. All the boys surf and when the crowd thins so do
Alena and I.

Carl has been videoing from shore and after lunch we
watch the video and talk about technique. Some in English and then a flurry of
Russian.

We anchor inside Maccas, the skipper tells us he has a
quick release system for the anchor in case of a Tsunami. Maccas camp was wiped
out in 2010 along with a couple of boats cannoning into each other. Everything
is OK but I grabbed the life vest from under my bed and put it next to me
before I went to sleep.

October 7

We are up before dawn, the swell has dropped so we are
out in the lineup. It is only small with the occasional head high set. There is
a boat with about 13 or 14 surfers on it. Why you would charter a holiday with
that many guys amazes me. They are cool guys but they like to surf together.
Another thing that always amazes me is why you don't surf in some sort of
shifts to minimise the crowd. Anyway we have a bit of fun. After breakfast the
last boat leaves and Alena, Tanya and I surf waist high Maccas by ourselves. It
ain't epic by a long shot but fun. There have been the customary coral scrapes.
Alex has a pretty cool fin chop across his back.

The swell is dropping so we head down to Thunders. The
boys are out and surf till late. Anna and Tanya explore the beach returning
with a pile of shells.

There is always a snack with drinks before dinner. Smoked
salmon and Bruschetta have been the favourites. Lasagne is on tonight's menu.

October 8

Swell has dropped, the girls and I take the rubber ducky
over to Budhas, a small wedge left that is just a take off. Not much happening
but we surf for a couple of hours. Back on the Addiction a group meeting
decides while there is no swell we will do the customary harbour master check
in at Sikikap and prepare for tonight's beach BBQ. Tanya, a DJ in Moscow is
busy designing the play list from her massive music library. We steam up
towards Rags Left and hook a mackerel on the way. Alex and Andrey take turns
landing the fish. Not long after Dimma reels in a dog tooth tuna. That will
take care of the sashimi for the next couple of days.

Rags Left is one of the waves that the Tsunami ruined.
The reef lifted and while there still are waves the quality is not even close
to its former glory.

The crew have some hard work ahead taking all the food
and drink including a BBQ over to a beautiful stretch of beach just inside the
left to set up the night’s festivities. Sate Squid, BBQ chicken, salad and
potatoes.

Yudi is the pyromaniac and has three bonfires raging on
the sand. It's party night and the drinks cabinet takes a hammering. Not quite
sure when it all finished because I sneak back. To the boat but I am pretty
sure there will be no early morning start.

Oct 9

6.30 And no one has woken. I give the crew a hand to
clean up and have a quiet breakfast. The swell still looks small but no one is
going anywhere in a hurry.

Alena and Dimma are up but not for long and need another
nap. At 8.30 Alena resurfaces and the two of us leave Thunders in the rubber
ducky and surf Budhas. Carl surfs with us with a water proof video camera.
Plenty of fun lefts, we surf for nearly three hours. When we return Andrey and
Artem are out at Thunders, everyone else is trying to blow away the cobwebs.
Pumpkin soup and toasted sandwiches for lunch.

The girls and I take a trip back to Budhas for an
uncrowded surf. Tanya has been using a Bourton Silver Bullet. She is having a
great time. Anna gets a couple of good ones as well while Alena is having
great success working on her cutbacks.

Meanwhile the boys are snagging some barrels
at Thunders. Froddo who has been suffering from last night’s BBQ snaps his
legroom and busts the fin out of his board. The Addictions engineer, Azman is a
Mr Fixit and gets to work repairing the damaged board.

One of my favourites Rendang, a spicy beef curry is part
of the menu tonight.

October 10

My neck and shoulder muscles are starting to ache after the
long surfs yesterday. Time to hit the Voltaren tablets. I am up at 6 but
struggling a bit, lucky for me the rest of the guys are a bit stiff and sore
and tired as well.

Will be giving the Addictions massage chair plenty of
time today.

Everyone sleeps in a bit so we take the big boat over to
Budhas. The swell is starting to kick and while the wave is just a takeoff it
has plenty of power. Alena gets a couple of good ones. Tanya gets slammed by a
big one and loses her board. Froddo has a crack as well, he is a powerful unit
and could paddle an icy pole stick over broken glass. He goes over the edge
regularly and makes a couple.

For a change of scenery we head north to Roxy's. There
are two boats there but really small. We decide to return to Thunders. A couple
of the boys head out while Artem rigs up his kite surfing gear. He leaves here
for Mauritius where he works as a Kite board instructor.After the boys had a good crack at Thunders
we head to Roxy's and managed to reel in a good sized Spanish mackerel on the
way. Roxy's is crowded but Alena gets a few good ones, waist to shoulder high.

October 11

We hit Roxy's by 6am. Another boat comes around the
corner so everyone gets in to scare them off. That works but 4 other guys turn
up and spoil our party. After a two hour surf another boat turns up. They have
11 guys on board. I still find it strange that you would do a charter with that
many guys. 11 guests plus a surf guide, maybe a surfing photographer and or
cook and you have a massive crowd before you start.

There is a massive tropical storm brewing with lightening
and ear splitting Thunder. I love these storms but the boat of French surfers
don't like it one bit and head back to their boat really fast.

There are plenty of boats this year and more land camps.
With the predominantly southerly wind which is normal for this time of year the
surf-able breaks are limited. We surf small inconsistent waves at Roxy's all
day. We anchor around the corner but with a sniff of swell our plan is for the
boat to head to Maccas around 4am so we can be there at dawn.

October 12

The wind is right at Maccas but yesterday's storm
produced a sloppy wind swell. There is the odd one but disappointing seeing it
is our last day. We try searching out more spots heading back north but the
weather deteriorates. Wind and rain. Everything is junk. Our last stop is HT's.
The captain and crew have a same day turn around so they are keen to pull the
pin and keep going to Padang. Obviously we want at least one more surf no
matter how bad. After another massive down pour the wind eases and the are some
reasonably clean head high waves at HT's. Andre creases his board on his last
surf. The same happened to him last trip. (Grrrrr!!!) The sun even comes out so
Anna and Tanya head to the beach for a few fashion promo shots.

The last guy gets out of the water and the boat guns it
to Padang. Captain Eric has hit the gas, we are running with the wind and the
crossing only takes 4 hours. The not so fun part is packing up boards etc with
the boat rocketing back to port. There is still video and photo's to buy from
Carl and Geni. The video package is really cool and Geni with hasn't missed a
wave with his camera. The Indo crew are a really good bunch of hard working
guys and deserve their tip.

October 13

The party is certainly over now. The boat is being
cleaned and restocked while we do our last minute packing and get ready to head
to the airport. I have to find my thongs, haven't seen them since we first
boarded the boat. The Indies Trader 3and 4 are in port. Doris Elthrington's new
boat and the Rip Curl boat are in port as well. From the reports Scuzz from
Sumatran Surfariis is scoring some fun waves out in the Ments in a sneaky spot.

It is a bit strange being back on land but the drive to
airport in the rain with the car horn blaring and the occasional passing in
between trucks, cars and motorbikes wakes your senses up.

I am international through to KL while Alena and all the
guys are domestic through to Jakarta where they split and go their separate
ways.

Was it a good trip? ......

Over all the surf was average by Mentawai standards but a
trip to this region is always special. We will be back!!

About Me

If you have been surfing the web looking for a way to improve your surfing at the beach then look no further. Mal Gregson lives and surfs on Phillip Island and conducts personal surf sessions that include equipment appraisal, surf awareness and more importantly the bio mechanics of improved technique. Mal works in Australia, Bali, Mentawai Islands, Thailand, South America, Maldives, South Africa and ..................